I’ve always respected David Lynch as an artist, but honestly, his films and TV shows are not my cup of tea. It’s fine, not everything has to be done to my taste, and I get that there are many people who enjoy the Lynchian weirdness, obscurity and other-worldly vibe in his artistic vision. So what I’ll say here is that I believe David Lynch’s heart is in the right place, but perhaps he could direct his peaceful energy in some other way? Apparently, Lynch has announced that all medical peeps will be eligible for free transcendental meditation classes through his foundation in the wake of the pandemic. Again, his heart is the right place. But these poor doctors and nurses need masks and equipment, not transcendental meditation! Or maybe they need all of it, who knows. Some highlights from this Page Six story:
He believes things will be different & nicer after the pandemic: “I have a feeling … that Mother Nature is running the show on this, and said, ‘Let’s just hold on and stop this crazy world for a while so that people can reflect and think about what we are doing as human beings on this planet.’ I think the world is going to be different when this virus goes, it is going to take with it a lot of the old and the new is going to be better … a kinder place. I think it is already bringing the world together.”
His foundation’s offer: The David Lynch Foundation launched Heal The Healers Now to provide free transcendental meditation training to medics to cope with the stress surrounding the pandemic and protect against burnout. “They say that this is like a war, the enemy is the virus. The doctors and nurses are on the front line … they are under a lot of stress and some of them, when the war is over, they will be like soldiers coming back from war.” Urging medics to go to the David Lynch Foundation website to find a TM teacher, he continued, “the David Lynch Foundation will work in any way it can to get it to them for free and they can walk away from suffering and stress and infuse the happiness and creativity, energy and peace, that lies within every human being.”
He enjoys the lockdown: Lynch has been home in Los Angeles during the lockdown, building lamps in his woodshop. And unlike many others, he is enjoying the isolation. “I love it, I love it so much, I love thinking about things and working on small projects … I am running a little low on food right now, but that’s cool, I’ve got coffee, I’ve got materials in the woodshop and I’ve got my transcendental meditation. I have a couple of houses that are close to each other, and I have my family in one and I’m in the other. So we see each other from a distance, and we blow each other kisses. This is a chance to reflect, a great time to meditate, dive within and unfold that treasury. It will lead to great ideas, great solutions to problems, great relationships … It is a brand new world.”
Just let me say, I think meditation is amazing and there are tons of great ways to incorporate meditation or meditation techniques (breathing exercises, mantras, simply working on the ability to clear one’s mind) in everyday life. Meditation has been shown to lower blood pressure and ease physical pain and calm anxiety and nervousness and all of that. Transcendental Meditation is one specific version of the larger meditation movement, and yes, you can take classes from “certified” teachers. I’m sure there will be some medical professionals who seek out Lynch’s offer and might even be helped by it. But also… is this the exact moment to shill for your highly specific meditation organization? Is it slightly crass? I don’t know. I keep going back and forth and arguing with myself about this. I just wonder how many medical people will even take him up on this offer, well-meaning as it is. But hey, I’m glad that some people are taking concrete steps towards looking after the mental health of carers. *coughKeenCambridgescough*
Photos courtesy of WENN.
